Gentrification? Try Gentefication.

We write plenty about gentrification here on DCentric, which can be a very loaded word. But what about “gentefication?” According to our sister blog Multi-American, gentefication is “the process of upwardly mobile Latinos, typically second-generation and beyond, investing in and returning to the old neighborhood.” The “gente” comes from the Spanish word for “people.”

Gentefication is being used to describe what’s happening in L.A.’s Boyle Heights neighborhood, where Latino investors are developing low-income areas, with businesses attracting second-generation and English-speaking crowds. Some low-income locals of Mexican descent are worried they’ll be displaced by all of this development, even if the business owners are Latino, too.

In D.C., gentrification has taken hold in working class black and Latino neighborhoods, and most of D.C.’s well-to-do newcomers are white; in a city that’s mostly black, 60 percent of households making more than $75,000 are white, according to census data. Therefore the word “gentrification” in D.C. tends to imply neighborhood changes have to do with class and race.

But gentrification, even in the District, isn’t always about race. Take Anacostia, where the gentrification that’s starting to occur is class-based; professional African Americans are settling in the predominately black, low-income area. And just as in L.A.’s Boyle Heights, some of these newcomers have roots in the city and are returning to the places they grew up. So is gentrification the best way to describe what’s happening in Anacostia, or do we need a new word, too?

MORE POSTS ABOUT

Today is my last day as the senior reporter for DCentric. It’s been a little over a year since I started writing for this blog, and I’m blown away at just thinking about all of the interesting topics I’ve had … Read More

Trapeze artists hovered above a crowd. A band played electronic music as green lasers flashed through the room. Nearby, people created silk-screened T-shirts, a video installation played against the wall and the crowd tossed a large, clear plastic bubble filled … Read More

The 14th Street NW corridor continues its transformation, as work on luxury condo buildings marches on and announcements of restaurant openings stream in. The older businesses that opened along the strip in the aftermath of the 1968 riots are, one-by-one, closing shop (and getting millions … Read More

Trapeze artists hovered above a crowd. A band played electronic music as green lasers flashed through the room. Nearby, people created silk-screened T-shirts, a video installation played against the wall and the crowd tossed a large, clear plastic bubble filled … Read More

Gentrification takes place when middle and upper-income people move into low-income communities, which ushers in economic change, reinvestment and development. Jumping back a few weeks ago, a discussion took place on DCentric when we pondered a more specific kind of … Read More

Newer Post

Older Post

regardless of how many single words we use to differentiate things by race or ethnicities, it’s not going to cover it. neither is our focus on these tribalistic aspects. we need sentences, paragraphs and discussions. we need ways for the marginalized, disenfranchised and the poor to be able to buy into gentrifying neighborhoods. we need a means for all to be able to call their neighborhoods home.

http://profiles.google.com/justupthepike Dan Reed

I’d be curious to see if gentefication will happen/is already happening in DC area neighborhoods with a substantial Latino population, like Wheaton and Langley Park. I’m skeptical at how much outside investment the Purple Line will bring to Langley Park, and I’m wondering if it’ll be Latino businesspeople & homeowners that pour their money into that area.

http://thegreatermarin.wordpress.com/ OctaviusIII

Gentrification is the right term if it’s going to mean anything other than racial displacement. The origin of the term – replacement of the poor by the rich “gentry” – implies it’s a class and income distinction. The problems associated with gentrification deal with neighborhoods being changed by rising rents and home prices. That happens whether the rich folk are black or white.

http://twitter.com/Eleytown Carlton Eley

So is gentrification the best way to describe what’s
happening in Anacostia, or do we need a new word, too?”

When I lecture, I often explain to audiences that
equitable development is not an anti-gentrification initiative. My reason is
the incumbent residents who lived in urban centers before they became fashionable places to reside again,
have always wanted improvements in services, infrastructure, schools, and
environmental quality. All citizens want these things. It would be a grave
error to presume that residents who didn’t abandon existing communities in an
attempt to pursue suburban lifestyles were content with mediocrity.

Instead of creating a new term to describe the process
of neighborhood change, I would focus on strategies for managing the process.
Including strategies for helping residents to guide the change process rather
than react to it.

Great question.

About DCentric

DCentric was created to examine the ways race and class interact in Washington, D.C., a city with a vibrant mix of cultures and neighborhoods. Your guide to the changing District is reporter Elahe Izadi.GET IN TOUCH

FOLLOW US

ABOUT THIS SITE

DCentric was created to examine the ways race and class interact in Washington, D.C., a city with a vibrant mix of cultures and neighborhoods. Your guide to the changing District is reporter Elahe Izadi.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

The 14th Street NW corridor continues its transformation, as work on luxury condo buildings marches on and announcements of restaurant openings stream in. The older businesses that opened along the strip in the aftermath of the 1968 riots are, one-by-one, closing shop (and getting millions of dollars in exchange for their buildings, if they own them). Some newer businesses are … Continue reading →

The quality of life for the elderly varies by race, and a new report from the Council on Contemporary Families sheds light on how loneliness affects seniors. The report, by the nonprofit, non-partisan group based at University of Miami, found that elderly women are more likely to live alone and face higher poverty rates than men. But … Continue reading →